It has long been accepted that certain wavelengths of electromagnetic radiation, such as ultraviolet light, have the ability to affect biological and chemical structures. For example, the formation of thymine dimers under the influence of ultraviolet light is well known and has been utilized to sterilize surfaces by killing or inactivating a variety of pathogens. In the early 1900's efforts were made to incorporate exposure to ultraviolet light as a treatment modality for various diseases, including bacterial and viral infections. Procedures were typically extracorporeal; a volume of blood would be removed from a patient, irradiated to modify a patient's immune response and/or inactivate pathogens, and returned to the patient. Such efforts were hindered, however, by the sources of ultraviolet light available at the time. UV lamps of the time period did not operate reliably, produced inconsistent illumination, and generated large amounts of heat. The development of effective and reliable antibiotics that were easily administered resulted in a loss of interest in this therapeutic approach.
The increasing prevalence of antibiotic-resistant pathogens and the recognition of potential effectiveness for the treatment of noninfectious medical conditions have led to an increasing interest in the use of blood irradiation as a treatment modality. A variety of devices for improved extracorporeal irradiation of blood have been proposed.
For example, United States Patent Application No. 2004/0116912 to Appling and United States Patent Application No. 2004/0010248 to Appling, et al, both discuss endovascular laser treatment devices used with an optical fiber running from a laser source to the patient's body. However, the length of the singular fibers in these approaches present installation challenges to the administering personnel. Additionally, if the optical fiber has to be replaced at any time after introduction into the patient, the entire fiber must be withdrawn from the patient's body and a new one installed.
Other approaches have included devices whereby the fiber is divided. For example, United States Patent Application No. 2008/0249517 to Svanberg discusses connecting a light guide within an adapter body to a light guide of a light source via an optical connector using a threaded connection. However, the coupling and uncoupling of adapter body and optical connector require the rotation of the adapter body and/or optical connector, which risks injury to the patient if the coupling or uncoupling occurs while the adapter body is connected to an inserted catheter or needle.
This and all other extrinsic materials discussed herein are incorporated by reference in their entirety. Where a definition or use of a term in an incorporated reference is inconsistent or contrary to the definition of that term provided herein, the definition of that term provided herein applies and the definition of that term in the reference does not apply.
Unless the context dictates the contrary, all ranges set forth herein should be interpreted as being inclusive of their endpoints and open-ended ranges should be interpreted to include only commercially practical values. Similarly, all lists of values should be considered as inclusive of intermediate values unless the context indicates the contrary.
While certain devices and methods are known in the art to irradiate blood, all or almost all of them suffer from one or more disadvantages. Thus, there is still a need for simple system for the effective in vivo irradiation of blood.